I think the most important thing is to, without belligerence, stand up for what want. Argue compellingly if someone tries to change your script.

I think the most important thing is to, without belligerence, stand up for what want. Argue compellingly if someone tries to change your script. Yeah, legally they can if they want to. But rather than give up, as some of the writers do, and just wail about how your script got rewritten, it's much more difficult - but well within the realm of possibility - to argue very sincerely, calmly, and reasonably from your point of view, such that the director or the producer might decide, "All right, let's do it that way."

I always have humour in my action movies. I think characters that make jokes under fire are more real. It somehow helps put you in their shoes.

Every director should take an acting class. At least one. You know, you panic with actors. It's like, "Okay, this is back in college, I know how to talk to these guys. I know their vocabulary, and I get what they're saying back to me." So basically to learn the vernacular of acting, that's very important.

When you are making a lot of money people forget you are trying to be creative and they picture you laughing all the way to the bank ... especially with an action script, automatically it gets boo-hooed as being worthless. It was very difficult to hear that sort of thing and I lost a good many friends over money issues because they didn't have money or their scripts weren't selling and mine were.

When you only have $15 million, you have to talk about something interesting. You can't just cut to a helicopter exploding.

I think the most important thing is to, without belligerence, stand up for what want. Argue compellingly if someone tries to change your script.